Editor's note: Mark Hinson is on vacation this week, so I have hijacked the Music Roundup. He and his music column will return on Dec. 27.

While much of Tallahassee was preoccupied with college football last week, the theater community had something else to talk about: NBC's live broadcast of "The Sound of Music" starring Carrie Underwood.

There's really no arguing that Underwood was pretty awful as Maria. But it was a gutsy thing for her to try, and while she wasn't Julie Andrews — nobody is — I applaud her and NBC for making it happen.

I fervently hope that it raises the level of interest in musical theater and that people, especially kids, will have more opportunities to see that uniquely American art form, the live musical.

The ratings were terrific and NBC has already announced that it will do another musical next year. So I can't resist giving offering my advice on how to improve. Not that anyone asked.

Get better at explaining what you are doing. There was a ton of advance publicity for the broadcast, but most people seemed to think that it was going to be a "remake" of the 1965 movie. It wasn't. It was a production of the original Broadway show, which a completely different thing. Lots of people complained that this "new version" moved scenes around, added and deleted songs and changed dialogue. It didn't. This was the original; it was the movie that messed around with the story and songs. As the business folks say, manage expectations.

Give the actors an audience. Audiences are essential; their reactions drive and change performances, and this event desperately needed one. It was apparent at the end of every song, when there should have been applause but wasn't. It was excruciatingly obvious when the spectacular Christian Borle, who played Uncle Max, delivered his laugh lines with perfect comic timing and there was no one there to laugh. Television shows are done with live audiences all the time, so why not this?

Stop trying to make it look like a movie. Paradoxically, the production was almost too good. The sets were so elaborate — Maria wandered through a forest on a mountain, endless nuns processed through an enormous abbey with many hallways — that it felt less like good theater and more like mediocre film.

When I was the stage manager for a touring production of "The Sound of Music" years ago, we didn't have a mansion or a forest. We had a single painted "mountain," which was basically a ramp that the family climbed at the end to escape the Nazis. For some reason the ramp was always slick, and we were terrified that one of the actors would fall. There's an old (and disgusting) theater trick of spilling Coca-Cola onto a slippery floor and letting it dry out and get sticky. For that particular summer, we toured with a giant vat of powdered pink lemonade, and every night I made two pitchers: one to stand in for pink champagne in the party scene, and one to pour on the mountain. I'm positive the audience could hear the crunching sounds underfoot as the nuns sang the reprise of "Climb Ev'ry Mountain." But that’s part of the charm of a live performance.

Because the Underwood version felt so much like film, the audience forgot what was happening. Those actors were performing live. Live. There were no cue cards, no breaks and no re-takes. It started at the beginning and went straight through to the end with real-time costume changes, precisely timed entrances and exits, and no lip-syncing or auto-tune.

And when you remember that, it was extraordinary. No one, not even the kids, forgot their lines. There were no major screw-ups and no real sour notes. But because it felt so film-like, it seemed ordinary.

The veteran Broadway performers were also superb: the aforementioned Christian Borle ("Smash"), Laura Benanti ("Go On," "Law and Order") and of course, the sublime Audra McDonald ("Private Practice"), who brought such new life to the Mother Abbess that even I, who have seen the show at least a hundred times, learned something new about the character.

But the magic of theater was missing. If you want to see a great version of theater on screen, check out "Company" with Neil Patrick Harris and a host of other stars. Everything that was wrong with "The Sound of Music" was right with "Company."

Here's to many more live musicals on TV. But, you know, better ones.

Both “The Sound of Music” and “Company” are available via Hulu Plus and probably other streaming services, but if you’d rather get out and see something in person, never fear — the music scene is slowing down as Christmas approaches, but there are still some choices on this pre-Yule weekend. Here’s a guided tour of what’s on the ho-ho-horizon:

SEE STEVIE: Southern rock artist Stevie Monce, whose music ranges from shoe-tapping rock riffs to heartfelt acoustic ballads, will perform two free concerts at 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the 5th Avenue Tap Room, 1122 Thomasville Road. Both concerts will be recorded live. Call 325-0260.

SHINE ON: Delta Moon hits the Bradfordville Blues Club to promote their new live CD, "Turn Around When Possible—Live Volume 2" at 10 p.m. Friday at 7152 Moses Lane. Tickets are $13 advance and $15 at the door. Visit www.bradfordvilleblues.com.

CELEBRATE SOLSTICE: Singer/songwriter Velma Frye will perform at Birdsong Nature Center, 2106 Meridian Road, Thomasville, Ga., at the Winter Solstice Celebration starting at 5 p.m. Saturday, followed by Bradley White and friends. The event also features a bonfire and observation of evening sky. It’s an all-outdoor event, so is dependent on weather. Admission is $8 adults, $5 for children. Call 229-377-4408.

MUSIC FOR A GOOD PAWS: Listen to an afternoon of music with Bailey Salinero and Lucas Brown of Apollo Violin Duet, benefiting the Tallahassee Animal Foundation. Following the concert there will be a raffle for two Tallahassee Symphony tickets, a reception and an animal adoption booth. It’s from 2-4 p.m. Saturday at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tallahassee, 2810 N. Meridian Road, with a $5 suggested donation. Call 445-5297.

THE COWS TRY AGAIN: Bluegrass-pickers Cows Don’t Care (featuring two players who are city firemen during their day jobs) were supposed to perform last week at LeMoyne Center for the Visual Arts, 125 N. Gadsden St., but were cancelled due to weather. They have been rescheduled for Saturday, and will perform some tunes from 3-5 p.m. in the sculpture garden, and the Kenny Hill Band will play from 6-8 p.m. on the front porch. Admission to LeMoyne, which is displaying its 50th Anniversary Holiday Show, is $3 per person or $7 per family. Visit www.lemoyne.org.

SLAPSTICK IS BACK: One of Tallahassee's most beloved rock bands is back together for the Fourth Annual Slapstick Reunion Concert at 7 p.m. Saturday at The Moon, 1105 E. Lafayette St. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 day of the show. The doors open at 6 p.m. Visit www.slapstickreunion.com.

TUNE INTO THE GUITAR: Tampa guitarist Selwyn Birchwood, winner of the 2013 International Blues Challenge championship, will be blazing away at 10 p.m. Saturday at the Bradfordville Blues Club, 7152 Moses Lane. Tickets are $13 advance and $15 day of the show. Visit www.bradfordvilleblues.com.

TAKE A TRIP: Singer-songwriter Hananel of Thomasville releases her debut solo album, “Maiden Voyage” at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Thomasville Center for the Arts, 600 E. Jackson St. Her band will perform selections from the album, which will also be for sale. Cover charge is $10. Call 229-224-0124.

PREACHING FROM THE CHOIR DIARY: Wiley Gaby, Teresa Jimenez and Jeffrey Doker all grew up in the Florida panhandle, making music together and independently throughout their youths. They went their separate ways but converged in Brooklyn in 2013 to form the country/rock band The Choir Diary. The band will perform at 7 p.m. Sunday at the American Legion Hall on Lake Ella. Suggested donation is $10, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Visit www.thechoirdiary.com.

HE’S A BAD, BAD SANTA: Singer/songwriter Grant Peeples hosts his annual Christmas Eve Eve party, also known as “Bad Santa Night,” at the Mockingbird Cafe, 1225 N. Monroe St., on Monday. He’ll be joined by special guest Erik Alvar from Nashville and some other surprise performers.

According to Peeples, it’s "one more chance to be naughty before you gotta be nice..." The evening will feature fun and sometimes bawdy ballads, beginning at 8 p.m. The cover charge is $10. Call 222-4956 or visit grantpeeples.com.